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Over 5,319 reviews forCarlsbad Patio And Sunroom Builders from people just like you.

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was exceptional to work with. He works quickly and efficiently. The price could not be beat. The end product was excellent. I can not say" ...More enough good things!! I would definitely recommend them anyone and already have to several people!

-Lisa R.

A

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and his team were very professional from the initial call for an estimate and all the way through construction. They recommended options" ...More that other companies didn't offer including superscreen and impact drains.

was our installer and he was meticulous with his construction, paying attention to every detail. He communicated with us daily offering suggestions to improve the functionality of the room including the placement of the doggie door and the two regular doors he installed.

also recommended a paver installation company and they did an excellent job with the footer and paver installation. He is very particular in his referrals and his recommendation could not have been better.

and his team know what they are doing and I advise getting an estimate from Impact before signing another companies contract. We could not be happier with the job. Thanks Impact!

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Porches and sunrooms can add space and character to any home. From helping to create a unique look to the many benefits that they offer to the homeowner, these structures have the ability to add visual appeal and extra living space to any home when properly constructed.

Angie's Answers

An itemized list / cost breakdown, more often than not is used against the contractor when it is shared with other builders who will then beat it.

Good contractors use good people, and good people cost more. Just the cost of having the appropriate insurance / bond can be the difference between winning a job or losing it ot a 'lower bid'.

It is the rule of three; there is Good, Cheap and Fast. You can have any two: Good and Cheap, won't be Fast; Good and Fast, won't be Cheap; Cheap and Fast, won't be Good!

When comparing bids, it isn't the cheapest or the 'nicest' person you should select. You should understand why there is a large price difference (it shows there are gaps in your design program or what you have asked for specifically, which means there may be arguments later). If most of the bids are in line, and one is way high or way low, you want to know why before dismissing or selecting them.

No. Heck no. Here's a good example. We very recently needed to find someone to install about 500 square feet of exotic wood flooring (we already have the materials). We contacted about 12-15 top-rated Angieslist contractors. Out of the few who did get back to us, we got 5 quotes, 2 of them were literally just over the phone. They "didn't feel it would be necessary to even see the space".

Here were the bids:

$4000 (sight unseen), $2800 (sight unseen), $2500, $1500, $1450

We didn't "share our budget for this". Why would we? We asked them to bid the job. That's it. All of them should be well-qualified and they are all highly rated. We were interested in how THEY value their time/resources - for an apples/apples job.

Do you still think that you should tell them about your budget? Your choice. From my standpoint it isn't their business. I'm asking them to bid on a project. Invariably I'll get some very high bids, medium bids and a few more reasonable ones - ALL from "highly rated contractors".

Herlonginc's answer stated that it is not the contractor's job to pay for materials and labor to do the job. I say baloney - a reputable, established contractor has the funds (or a business operations line of credit) to "carry" the job between interim or partial payments, each of which should be keyed to completion of distinct easily measured mileposts in the job, and for a homeowner I would say should be in not more than 20% increments for jobs exceeding a week or so. For shorter jobs, then an initial payment, 50% completion, and completion would be normal. His cost of carry funds is part of his cost of doing business, and is figured as part of his overhead.Bear in mind when he is buying materials and paying labor, his materials he typically pays for on a 10-30 day invoice, and his labor typically a week or two after they work, so he is not really "fronting" that much money if you are giving him weekly or biweekly interim payments, on a typical residential job.

If he does not have the funds to buy materials (excepting possibly deposit on special-order or luxury items, which still typically are 10-30 day invoiceable to him) and hire personnel then he is a fly-by-night operation, and he should not be bidding that size job. You should never (other than MAYBE an earnest deposit of not more than the LESSER of 10% or $5000) let the payments get ahead of the approved/inspected work progress - typically payment should be 10-20% BEHIND the progress, with at least 10% retained at the effective end of work until final inspections and completion of the final "punchlist".

That promotes rapid continuation of the work, discourages the all-too common nightmare of contractors taking on more work than they can handle so they leave your job for weeks or months to go work on someone else's job (frequently to start that someone else's new job so he can get the job), and does not leave you out a tremendous amount of cash if he does not finish and you have to hire another contractor to finish the job. Remember, if you have to hire a new contractor to finish the job, he will charge you a lot more than the original bid to finish someone else's unfinished mess.

This may seem cynical, but having started in the construction business about 50 years ago and seeing the shenanigans that a lot of contractors pull you cannot be too safe. You have to remember contractors are like any other people - I would say maybe 10% are outright crooks, another 25% or so will pull a fast one or overcharge if the opportunity presents itself, maybe 30% will do the work but not any better than they are forced to, about 25% are good conscientious reputable workmen, and the last 10% or so are really spectacular - conscientious, fair, and efficient craftsmen. This top 35% are the only ones you should have bidding in the first place. Therefore, only get bids from long-term reputable firms (so you shake out the marginal short-timers with less experience and also generally less ability to finish the job on budget and schedule), only those that have good RECENT references, and preferably with excellent word-of-mouth recommendation from people you know and trust. That way, you are starting right off with the cream of the crop, so hopefully whichever one bids low should be a good choice.

NEVER start with bids, then check the references of the low bidder - why even consider a vendor or contractor who you do not have faith in from the start ? Get references and short-list you possibles BEFORE you ask for bids.

Low bids - that is another matter - commonly the low bidder is NOT who you want, especially if he is significantly lower than several others, which might mean he is desperate for work, made a math error, or did not correctly figure the entire scope of work. You want a reasonable bid with someone you connect with and trust - that is worth a lot more in the success of the job than the absolute lowest bid.

For this type of job, you need plans and specs from an Architectural/Engineering firm before thinking about contractors - and to get a building permit.
Ben's method would work and done incrementally could cost well over $100,000 plus as he says, but this not really the most economic way to approach this big a job. A House Mover or Foundation Underpinning specialty company can usually slide your house onto a whole new foundation, or jack it up on steel beams and hold it there while a basement is dug underneath it, without any intermediate piers. The jacking/move cost would probably be on the order of $30-40,000, and a new basement probably about $40-50,000 - rough ballpark, though I have been involved in some 1000-1500SF single story jobs that went for under $70,000 total.
I have been involved in a fair number of these type jobs - and the way the numbers come out, if there is room on the property to move the house, it is almost always nearly as cheap or cheaper to build an equivalent square footage (basement plus ground level) addition rather than add a basement under the house, and that way your new footage is half above ground so worth more on resale, plus you do not lose use of the house for a month or two. Second cheapest is usually sliding house to a new foundation, if property is large enough to do this - though house is totally cut off from utilities for a week to three. Most expensive, and usually only done in tight city environments or with full 2 story or higher houses, is adding the foundation in place, though your utility interruptions should be on the order of hours at a time rather than days or weeks.
Talk to an architect - I think you will quickly lean towards the addition option rather than adding a basement - it is just too expensive to deepen foundations in most cases, plus you WILL get cracking in the house and possible water and sewer pipe problems in a move/underpinning job, which is not the case with an addition. This become more likely the case since you want to add 8 feet off the back of the home anyway - so why not just enlarge the addition and do it all that way - MUCH simpler, and MUCH less disruption of your life, and you get much higher resale return on your investment.

Sunroom And Patio reviews in Carlsbad

F

Rating

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The enclosed patio does not have insulation, which is necessary for the weather. When I called to inquire about putting insulation on the roof, they explained that this is impossible for them to do, and that in order to put insulation in the structure, they would have to tear it completely down and build a new one, priced at $35k.”

- Edmund G.

F

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The concrete work was acceptable, the fence is a different story. When the pickets were installed, several split and were not replaced. After all the pickets were in place, the contractor left saying he would return to install the cap and stain the fence. He never returned to finish the remaining work. When contacted by phone, the contractor said he ...More would finish the work, but the next day he sent a text complaining about losing money on the job, and not being able to take paying jobs because he was stuck working on this job. Unfortunately, he was paid in full when he completed putting up all the pickets because he said that the wood needed to dry out (in a few weeks or when we were ready) before staining. So we are now finishing the job having to repurchase lumber and stain.”

- Danny W.

F

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Came out and said we would have the prices in 24-48 hours. We contacted them 2 times with no return call. We called again and was told that we would have it that night or the next morning. We never received anything and they wouldn't call us back. The worst part is that they were a referral from a personal friend of theirs.”

- Jacqueline S.

C

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did an estimate for a job and I found his price to be very, very high for the scope of work. I asked for the breakdown of materials and labor but he refused to disclose that information. He said he would email the quote but I've never received it. I'm sure he does good work and he was very nice but I don't trust ...More that he would be fair when it comes to my costs.

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- Leslie V.

D

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Initial contact with AES was October 2014 and contract was signed December 2014. Plans were drawn, City Permits were submitted/accepted by February 2015 and materials were ordered (dual pane energy efficient windows and doors). We got the original materials in April 2015, but the workers thought the windows that were ordered wouldn't fit in the ...More space due to incorrect measurements being taken during the initial inspection of the space. After waiting several weeks for new windows to come in, these windows were found to be wrong as well, as were new windows ordered after that due to more incorrect measurements being taken. I discovered at the end of June that the original windows sitting out in my yard did indeed fit the space, as I measured the space and the windows myself. These windows were installed, along with the doors on

16, 2015. The company sent four different workers to install the patio enclosure, and

(the last worker sent) was the one that installed it and got it right. Thanks to

for his great efforts in finally installing the windows and doors.
My concerns with this company during this process include:
1) Lack of professionalism and communication skills on the part of the office personnel and executives within the company
2) Concrete they had subcontractors install didn't have expansion joints and was poorly executed overall. When AES was told about this, they had no comments and didn't offer to fix it or compensate us for the poor workmanship.
3) AES sent out electrical contractors, but wouldn't give me their names or their company name so I could verify they had the correct electrical license to do the work, so we ended up hiring our own electrical contractor.
4) Kept telling us we were going to be so pleased with the final results, but what they didn't understand was we hired AES because we felt they were qualified to do this project within a reasonable time period and without so many mistakes. It was the incorrect measurements, poor communication, and unqualified workers that made this a very unsatisfactory project.
I am pleased with the final result, but not with the process to get there. I wouldn't recommend this company for anyone looking to do a patio enclosure/sunroom or for installation of custom doors or windows. I also wouldn't hire them again for any future projects.

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- Todd V.

A

Rating

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The construction was fabulous. The work was impeccable. The scheduling ran a week behind, due to the weather. They really couldn't change that. They came back when we were in town and did a walk-through with us. We only had one issue with a door that didn't closed smoothly; they came out and did the adjustment promptly. We have had guests ...More over; they have all been impressed with the final product.”

- Doreen G.

A

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did an fantastic job.
Tore out tub, and all the tile that covered every wall. Replaced sink and toilet. Placed new shower unit and added shelving, that I requested. Replaced medicine cabinet and updated electrical and lighting fixtures. New flooring and paint. Added a ceiling vent/fan and repaired/replaced ceiling. Always ...More left a clean area, at the end of the day.
Easy to communicate with, answering all questions I had.

did all the work himself, since it was a small bathroom. I will definitely use his services again it the need arises. Trustworthy.

”

- Tara C.

A

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showed up right on time (8am) to give a bid but when he looked over the work that needed to be done he offered to start and complete the Deck work required right then and there. I said yes and he removed the older composite deck up on the second floor right in the hot sun. There were lots of stripped and broken screws that required ...More removal.

is fast, honest and professional. He has years of experience which made the job go quickly. After all his work he only wanted $50.00 I gave him $100.00. I feel lucky that I was able to find someone like this and I can highly recommend him!”